Power factor measuring system



Patented Feb. i8, 1941 ETE STATES 2,231,943 POWER Poorten es G systeem llcox l?. Overbeek, Welt s, Rertlieon nrocturtns s Mess., assigner to lornpeny, Newton,

' Meer., n ccrnoretton or Eelewere replication Febres@ i933, Sertel No. 192,@49 t @trims (fol. www@ This invention relates to a. system for measuring power factor.

@ne of the objects of this invention is to devise s, simple circuit for meesurngponcr rector.

inet-ner object is to devise such e circuit in one velue oi current riotving verles lineerlv with the percent power rector.

rfi further object is to devise such e circuit in which tire current which rice-s ls or smdcient isrc tensity to o eerstc power factor corrective devices,

er control or indicsting devices directly. n. .ill fznrtlier object is to eceomnlisli toreq going lair the use or? e. magnetically-controlled electrical geseons discharge tute.

foregoing end ottici objects ci." mfr invention edil ne Feest understood from the following de or en euercpliticetion tnereot, reference keine land to tine occonrnenving drevvlns, wherein: me. l is e. disgrnnirnstic circuit illustrating one ce embodiment or nos invention; and

Fie. 2 :ls e. che-rt showing the manner in which current in the circuit o' Fig. l verles with the percent power factor.

In l there ere shown two conductors l end ne t which are selected to be connected to e suit sole source of alternating current. conductor 3 extends from tne conductor i to an snode e of en electrical spsce disclasrge tulle d. The tube il is nre-feineloir.7 of tine moenetlcally-controlled 30 type, as more fully described and claimed in the cmpending application of Percy L. Spencer, Serial No. 612,235, led Mey i9, 1932, for en improve# ment in Electricel gaseous discharge devices, now Potent No. 2,124,682, deted July 26, 1938. The tube 35 is provided with a cathode t which is preferably oi. the indirectly-heated thermionic type, and with en intermediate electrode 'l consisting of nonmagnetic electrically-conducting materiel edjacent the discharge petit between the cathode o lo and the anode e. The tube is lled with e. suitable ionizing gas or vapor, preferably argon, et e. pressure of the order of e millimeter or less, or mercury vapor at e pressure of the order of 1 to 100 microns. In any event the gas pressure is 45 of a suitable value so that when a, discharge oc'- I curs between the cathode and anode, the gas or vapor becomes ionized and current flows et e. relatively low voltage drop. The intermediate electrode l is connected to the cathode 6 by means 5o of e conductor S, although various bias potentials may be impressed upon scid intermediate electrode il so desired. The cathode of the tube t is connected by means of a. conductor 9 to one input terminal of a, power factor compensating 55 device lo. The other input terminal of the power rector compenssting device lo is connected by moons of n conductor il through an adjustable resist-ence iii to one terminal of e. current meter lil. The other terminal oi the current meter is oonnectedby ineens of e conductor lo to the line conductor From'the foregoing it will be seen tienttlie tno-e is connected in series with the. power :lector compensating device ill end the current meter 63 directly across the A. C. line conn doctors t end Tinus tooth tire compensating de- 1o vice end the current meter i3 ere responsive to time velue of current which rlows through the tone in order to melee the current owng through trie tote t responsive to the percent nov-rer factor, i5 e control coil i wound upon n core it in provided edjccent the tube tl. The core lo is so disposed as to impress e transverse magnetic field intersecting 'tne discharge path between the cathode S and tire snode e Within the tube o when the coil 20 lo is supplied with current. In absence ci e magnetic nelol with en alternating voltage applied to the tube, conduction starts substantially at the time when the snode becomes positive and stops when the snode voltage drops substantially e5 to nero. Since the tube does not conduct during the time that the cathode is positive, the tune recties the alternating voltage. As indicated in seid tto-pending application, new Patent No. 2,124,632, of Percy L. Spencer, when e. transverse 3o magnetic field. ls set up in the discharge path of suon n. tube and the anode thereof is made positive, initiation or the discharge is prevented until the magnetic flux drops to e. predetermined minimum value, which for most purposes may be con- 35 sidered es zero. The coil l5 is mede responsive to the current drawn bv the load, and for this rea.- son is connected in series in the line l, which in turn is connected to one of the input terminals to the iced il. The line t is connected to the 4o other input terminal to the load lll. In the presence of the mcsnetic control, the tube o still conducts current in only one direction, and therefore nots es a rectiier.

When e current, for example of e predetermined 45 lagging power factor is drawn by the load ll, the current through the coil l5 will be et en appreciable value when the voltage between the lines l and 2 passes through zero, and this current remains at an appreciable 'value for e de- 50 nite length of time after the anode d becomes positive. 'This length of time, of course, is the measure of the power factor. Since a discharge will not be initiated through the tube 5 until the field generated by the coil l5 falls to zero, the 55 starting of the current through the tube 5 will be delayed until the current`in the coil I5 has fallen to zero. The greater the angle of lag of the load current, the greaterwill be the delay in the initiation of the discharge through the tube 5. Ihe average current which passes through the tube 5 decreases as the delay in th'e initiation of the discharge is increased, and thus as the lagging percent power factor of the load I1 becomes smaller, the current through the tube 5 will `become smaller. If, however,- the load II draws a leading power factor, the current through the coil I5 will not fall to zero until late in the positive half cycle of the voltage applied to the anode 4. Thus a slightly leading current will cause a small value of current to flow through the tube 5. As, however, the angle of lead becomes greater; the current through the coil I5 will pass through zero earlier in the positive. half cycle applied to the anode Land the current through the tube 5 will increase. In Fig. 2 I have plotted the variations in current through the tube 5 against the percent power factor. It will be noted that the current .bears a linear relation to the percent power factor, and as the power factor passes through unity, the current through the tube 5 suddenly shifts from a maximum to zero, or vice versa, depending upon the direction in the shift of the power factor. It will further be noted that there is a short space on either side of unity power factor, in which the currentl remains zero. This is due to the fact that any tube, such as 5, does not actually start at the instant the anode becomes positive, but waits until the anode reaches a predetermined starting voltage. Although in practice some slight deviation from the linear relationship which I have indicated occurs, yet for all practical purposes, the variation can be considered as linear.

In view of the above operation of my system, it will be noted that the current-responsive meter I3 can'becalibrated to read percent power Afactor directly. Since the current varies linearly with the percent power factor it is very easy to calibrate the meter I3 inasmuch as the scale thereon may be made linear. The resistance I2 is provided for the purpose of limiting the amount of current which flows through tube 5. Furthermore, by making the resistance I2 adjustable, the reading of the meter I3 can be adjusted for any conditions of operation. When my power factor indicating device is connected to any system, a load of predetermined power factor, preferably a condenser, is connected as the load I1, and the resistance I2 is varied until the power factor meter reads zero power factor. Thereafter the readings of the meter I3 will indicate accurately the power factor of any load which may be' connected to the system.

Since the current which flows through the :tube 5 is limited only by the capabilities of the tube to conduct current, it will `be seen that large amounts of current may be passed and controlled by the tube 5. In order to increase the amount of current or power, it is merely necessary to decrease the value of the resistance I2. Since this large amount of power is available, it can be utilized directly to operate any suitable power factor compensatingA device such as I have indicated at I0. The compensating device I0 may be, for example, a series of condensers which are simply switched in and out of the circuit in accordance with the current flowing through the tube 5. The power factor compensating elements within the device I0 may therefore be connected through the lines I and 2 by means of the conductors I8 and I9, respectively. Of course any other type of power factor compensating device may be incorporated in the 5 device I0.

Of course it is to be understood that my inventionisnot to be limited to the particular details of the foregoing arrangement inasmuch as many equivalents will suggest themselves'to those skilled in the art. It will be noted that the, broad aspect of my invention includes impressing an alternating voltage across the rectiiler tube and delaying the firing of that tube in accordance with the phase displacement between the load current and the load voltage. In this broad aspect, therefore, the voltage impressed across the tube 5 maybe of any frequency, although in most instances the frequency will be that of the supply voltage. Although it is preferred that the voltage impressed across the tube be in phase with the applied voltage, a voltage displaced by a definite phase angle from the line voltage may likewise be applied. In the same way, although the magnetomotive force which creates the transverse magnetic ileld is preferably in phase with the load current, yet this magnetomotive force likewise may be displaced. by a delnite phase angle with respect to the load current. It will be seen that if such definite phase angle displacements exist, the current owing through the control tube will likewise be a definite measure of the percent power factor of the load. In so far as other specific equivalents are concerned, instead of utilizing a magnetically-controlled tube, any other. type of control tube in which the control is responsive to the load current may be used. Various other equivalents will suggest themselves to those skilled in this art. It is accordingly desired lthat the appended claims be given a. broad interpretation commensurate with the scope of the invention within the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, an alternating current load system adapted to be supplied with current from a source of alternating current, a controlled electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectifier, and means responsive to the current flowing in said load system for delaying the initiation of a discharge in said rectifier beyond the normal firing time in accordance with the phase displacement between said current and the voltage of said source, whereby the value of the current owing through said rectifier is a measure of the power factor of said load system.

2. In combination, an alternating current load system adapted to be supplied with current from a source of alternating current. a controlled electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectifier, magnetic means for creating a magnetic 6! flux for delaying the initiation of a discharge in said rectier beyond the normal firing time, and means for energizing said magnetic means in accordance with the current ilowing in said electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectifier, an impedance element in series with said rectifier for limiting the flow of current through said rectifier, and means responsive to the current flowing in said load system for delaying the initiation of a discharge in said rectifier beyond the normal firing time in accordance with the phase displacement between said currentand the voltage of said source.

4. In combination, an alternating current load system adapted to be supplied with current from a source of alternating current, a controlled electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectifier, an impedance element in series with said rectifier for limiting the flow of current through said rectifier, means for adjusting the value of said impedance, and means responsive to the current flowing in said load system for delaying the initiationof a discharge in said rectifier beyond the normal firing time in accordance with the phase displacement between said current and the voltage of said source. l

5. In combination, an alternating current load system adapted to be supplied with current from a source of alternating current, a controlled electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectifier, means responsive to the current flowing in said load system for delaying the initiation of a discharge in said rectifier beyond the normal firing time in accordance with the phase displacement between said current and the voltage of said source, and power factor compensating means responsive to the current flowing through said rectifier.

6. In combination, alternating current load system adapted to be supplied with current from a source of alternating current, a controlled electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined .phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectier, said rectifier comprising an envelope containing a cathode, an anode, and an ionizable medium, magnetic means for creating a magnetic flux in the discharge path between said cathode and anode for delaying the initiation of a discharge in said rectifier .beyond the normal firing time, and means for energizing said magnetic means in accordance with the current flowing in said load system, whereby the value of the current flowing through said rectler is a measure of the power .factor of said load system.

f7. In combination, an alternating current load system adapted to be supplied with current from a source of alternating current, a controlled electrical space discharge rectifier, means for impressing a voltage in predetermined phase relation to the voltage of said source across said rectif-ier, said rectifier comprising an envelope containing a cathode, an anode, and an ionizable medium, magnetic means for creating a magnetic flux transverse to the discharge path between said cathode and anode for delaying the initiation of a discharge in said rectifier beyond the normal firing time, and means for energizing said magnetic means in accordance with the currentv flowing in said load system, whereby the value of the current flowing through lsaid rectifier is a measurev of the power factor of said load system.

Y WILCOX P. OVERBECK. 

